Thursday, March 5, 2009

"The Sharecropper's Son" Bert Hayes Visits Playa Del Rio

Dr. Bert Hayes (Born October 1, 1931) author of the Sharecropper's Son, came to the park today for an informal dialogue on history, the economy, and the Great Depression. Also visiting was Maj. General (Retired) AbdallahSoudiBawaneh. After sharing some thoughts on how history reveals itself in the future, an open dialogue on where the economic times are taking us ensued. We considered the stance of the generations to come and compared our values to those of our children and grandchildren. I couldn't help but think that similar conversations may have taken place in the living rooms of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents and perhaps that the more we think things are changing the more they stay the same.

There was a sense of general concern over what the next few years would hold for the USA in terms of economic, and perhaps even more importantly, social stability. There was consideration given to the awkward questions of what could be done and who should be doing it as we faced the potential for increased crime, loss of hope for the future of our, and by our, young people.

While it was a sobering discussion it was certainly very thought provoking. Dr Hayes shared some stories from his experience as a professor over the years. He made reference to a couple of articles from before the Depression of the 1930's that could equally resonate in todays world indicating similar trends for this era's failing economy. History repeats itself, history helps predictions, and as Dr Hayes points out we are slow to learn from it!